Coming Back to Normal
by MysteriousWriter03
Summary: After Piper's fight with Pennsatucky, she was sent to Maximum Prison for 18 months. Now, she and a few other inmates from maximum prison are being transferred to Litchfield. A different Piper means a different plot. All Characters Included. Rewrite of Season 2 - Season 5
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

 **Important Notes:**

· **Plots from the other seasons will integrate into this story**

· **The plots from the season will not be a particular order**

· **Characters from other seasons will be in this story**

· **Piper's relationship with the other inmates will develop, for better or for worse**

 **Author's note: This is my first Orange is the New Black fanfiction so please feel free to suggest any new ideas or character development you would like to see. I have a general idea of where I want this story to go, but it's basically a rewrite of Season 2- Season 5**

Piper had handcuffs that were digging into her wrist, she and a few other inmates were currently sitting in a bus that were transferring them to god knows where.

"Where do you think they're transferring us?", a middle-aged woman named Lolly asked. Piper looked at the women sitting next to her with a blank face.

Piper shrugged her shoulders, "Does it matter? It's the same shitty cycle either way", her voice was emotionless.

Lolly looked at her with a hurt look on her face, for some reason she had taken personal offence to Piper's emotionless tone, "Jesus, you are just a bundle of sunshine" Lolly muttered sarcastically, "You see, I never understood that phrase. How can you have a bundle of sunshine? Like that can't physically happen"

Piper rolled her eyes in annoyance, she shifted in her seat uncomfortably and resisted against the handcuffs, causing it to dig into her skin painfully. She let out a sigh as she listened to Lolly ramble about how sunshine isn't tangible hence, you can't physically have a bundle of it.

The bus suddenly came to a stop, Piper made a silent pray as Lolly's rant came to a sudden halt.

"Inmates" A guard shouted as she walked onto the bus with a baton in her hand. Piper has been on the receiving end of that fucked up stick, and she can definitely say that it wasn't a pleasant experience. "When your name is called out, form a single and orderly line as you exit the bus. If there is any funny business then you will automatically be sent back to MAX"

Piper heard a few inmates chuckle from behind, "Are we in fucking kindergarten now?", Piper shook her head, she knew exactly where this was going.

"Inmate! What did you just say?" The female guard shouted as she started to walk to the back of the bus.

The inmate's smile only grew, "My name is Brandy, B-R-A-N-D-Y", Brandy's head was shaved and she had a tattoo on her neck. "Sorry, that I had to spell my name out for you. I just wanted to let you know that I knew how to spell my name and that I'm not fucking 6 years old"

The guards grip on her baton only tightened, Piper knew this could go 2 ways; the guard could either lose all her shit and beat the crap out of the inmate or, the guard will give the inmate a warning and forever hold a grudge against her.

The guard pointed her baton at Brandy, but before she could do anything, another guard came in with a list in hand, he gestured to the guard with the baton to come over to where he was.

"Let's make this process as fast as possible. When I call out your name, stand up and leave the bus, you will form a line and then be escorted to a van. You will enter the bus and be escorted to another prison", He spoke in a mono tone, it sounded as though he had done this roll call thing, one too many time.

"Brandy Epps, Stephanie Hapakuka, Brook Soso, Lolly Whitehill, Stella Carlin and Piper Chapman"

Piper looked up when her name was called, she let out another annoyed sighed and stood up. She completely forgot about the chains on her feet and almost tripped over. She walked down the bus steps carefully, making sure not to trip.

A familiar, looking guard checked her over before taking the hand cuffs and the chains on her feet off. "Holy shit Chapman, didn't think I would see you again" the guard spoke, her dirty blond hair was tired up into a bun.

Piper looked up from her feet to the guard, she looked familiar but couldn't understand why. The guard smirked like she knew her or something, "Do I know you?" Piper asked, she didn't mean to sound disrespectful well…. she honestly didn't care that she sounded disrespectful.

"Already forgotten. That's harsh" The guard replied, "Wanda Bell", Piper still looked confused.

"Wander what?" Piper asked with confusion. Bell chuckled at this, Piper instantly knew that she wasn't getting transferred to another max prison. The guards aren't usually this nice.

"Here's your badge of honour" Bell said as she gave Piper her name tag that had a prisoner code, "Welcome back to Litchfield". Piper looked at her with confusion before she could reply Bell and another guard dragged her to a familiar look van.

"Oh Fuck" Piper muttered under her breath. This was the last place that she wanted to be, considering the fact that she has been in supermax for over 12 months. At Litchfield, people could interact with other people, which ultimately meant drama and getting into another people's shit. Literally.

Piper climbed into the back of the van, god must hate her because she was one again, sitting next to Lolly.

"Howdy Partner" Lolly said as she recognised a familiar face. She smiled happily at Piper, and as much as Piper wanted to be a bitch, she decided that she didn't want to make enemies here. She decided to give a small smile to her.

"Hi Lolly", her voice sounded genuine, she surprised herself with how genuine she sounded. The driver of the van immediately recognised the voice.

"Oh my god Chapman it's you" the voice had a thick accent and Piper immediately knew who it was. Lorna Morello.

"Morello" Piper spoke with as much excitement she could muster, "How are you?" Piper felt like she was back in highschool, except this was prison, What the fuck do you say when you see someone again from prison. _'Hey, how's prison life treating you? Shit? Well, that's good. I'm sure prison life can only get easier'._ Piper thought about saying that out loud but decided not to.

"Good-Good…well, I'm not getting married to Christopher anymore" Morello said with a tinge of sadness, she truly loved him with all of her heart. Piper thought that Christopher was made up, but nobody can fake a broken heart. "But that's old news. How bout you? Nobody knew what happened to you after the fight with Pennsatucky". Morello purposely didn't mention Vause. Alex in particular didn't handle Piper's disappearance very well, she was a nervous wreck, but over time, she finally got her shit together.

Morello also noticed the dark circle around Piper's eyes that suggested that she didn't sleep very well. Piper not only had dark circle surrounding her eyes, but she was also thinner than usual, if that was even possible. Morello looked genuinely concerned.

Piper didn't want to answer her question, more like she didn't know how to answer that question. Thankfully, she didn't have to answer as Brook Soso decided to vocalise her fears.

"You've been here before? How bad is it? Prison I mean. Do you have any tips?" Soso asked with fear, Piper looked at her, she remembered when she held the same fear in her eye. Piper nodded her head in response.

"Yeah, I've been here before. A little prison tip, just keep your head down and serve your time. Don't get into other people's shit" Piper said firmly, she ignored the look that Morello was giving her through the van mirror.

"How long have you been in here?" Stephanie Hapakuka asked nervously, she looked at Piper and was for some reason intimidated. Piper was kind of offended that she looked threatening, but she was more so confused. She knew that she was built like a stick and couldn't understand why she would look intimidating.

"Litchfield, around 3 months. Maximum prison, I think 18 months. I'm not really sure, they didn't exactly have calendars" Piper replied, Hapakuka looked at her with shock, she didn't understand why this girl was looking at her like this.

Morello gave her another look, she too looked surprise by this fact, "You've been in max for 18 months?", Piper didn't know why Morello was surprised by this fact. She thought Morello and the rest of the inmates knew of her whereabouts.

"Where do you think I was?" Piper asked with genuine interest.

"Well, some said you were dead, others said that you were sent to SHU…" Morello replied, she paused for a few seconds before speaking up again, "Particular people thought you were out already"

Piper looked at Morello who was now focusing on the road, she knew who exactly was 'particular people'. She nodded her head, she didn't respond, instead she stared out of the window and admired the green grass and flowers that were growing on the side of the road.

Before she knew it, they were at Litchfield Prison. The place she never wanted to be again.

Piper walked out of the van and breathed in the fresh air, it was refreshing, she could already feel the freedom.

-00—

Morello walked through the halls with the 'new' inmates. Piper could feel the stares of the other inmates, she heard Taystee mutter to Poussey, "Ain't that high tits?"

Poussey looked at her with confusion, "High Tits? Nah man, she's the crazy version of Taylor Swift. I thought she was dead"

"Obviously not" Taystee replied

Piper kept her head down and followed Morello as she appointed the inmates to their bunk.

"Chapman" Morello called out as she stood in front of a cubicle, "You are here. Bunked with Red. It's really good to see you again, despite the circumstance"

Piper gave her small smile, "Thanks", Lorna walked over to her and gave her a tight squeeze on the shoulder before leaving the cubicle to assign the others.

The cubicle was the same as she remembered, the bunk still looked as uncomfortable as ever. She put her pillow on her bunk and laid down on it, she was now facing the brick wall with her eyes closed. She was tired and not in the mood for reunions. She was definitely not looking forward for her reunion with her ex. The last thing Alex had said to her was to basically _'get the fuck out, stay far fucking away from me, and not to come to her when she has shit going on'_. 

For once in her fucked-up life, she was going to listen to Alex and actually do what she wanted. She was self-contemplating on whether or not she should speak to Nicky or not. The last time she saw Nicky, she was fucking Alex, which was an unpleasant sight may she add.

"Who the fuck is in my bunk?" A Russian voice boomed. Piper flinched at the sudden harsh tone, she was so used to being in her own room, isolated from everyone and everything. She shifted her body so she was now facing an angry looking Russian.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Chapter 2_**

"Who the fuck is in my bunk?" A Russian voice boomed. Piper flinched at the sudden harsh tone, she was so used to being in her own room, isolated from everyone and everything. She shifted her body so she was now facing an angry looking Russian.

Piper's back was pressed up against the wall, "Hi Red" Piper said, there was little to no excitement in her voice. Red's anger was replaced with shock and confusion, Piper was getting used to the sudden shock expressions on her fellow inmates.

"Chapman" Red said as she walked over to the thin girl. "What're you doing here?", Piper assumed that Red was one of the people who thought that she had gotten out early.

"I got transferred here. I guess MAX got sick of me and sent me right back here" Piper said sarcastically. She moved her body into a sitting position, her back was now pressing against the brick wall.

"You were sent to MAX?" Red asked with shock, she didn't under how someone like Chapman could survive in a maximum facility if she could barely survive here.

"I'm just as surprised" Piper replied, she didn't think Red appreciated her sarcasm but she wasn't here to make friends. She wasn't going to try and 'win' prison. She was going to keep her head low, serve her time, and get the fuck out of here.

Red gave her a suspicious look and Piper wasn't quite sure how to respond to this, does she give her a smile? A small yet fake laugh that suggests how awkward this stare down was, "Does Vause know you're here?". Piper flinched at the question, she wasn't sure why she did, questions like this were simple, it shouldn't affect her, yet questions about Alex made her heart beat faster.

Piper looked down at her hands and fiddled with her thumb, "No", her response came out soft and she could feel Red's stare. Although, she couldn't tell if it was a judgemental stare or a sympathetic stare.

The 2 fell into an uncomfortable silence with Red still staring at her. Piper felt as though she was being analysed, she bit the inside of her cheek as she thought about asking a question that could make her feel things again. It was so much easier to act like a complete bitch then confront her true feelings, "How is she?"

Piper wasn't sure if Red had even heard her. Red raised her eyebrow at the petite girl, she has been looking at how thin the girl had looked. She has been trying to figure out how Piper could survive in Maximum Facility.

"Good as anyone can be in prison" Red's relationship with Alex was…complicated. At first, they didn't get along but after Alex had helped Nicky get clean again, their relationship has grown somewhat stronger. Red would go as far to say that Alex was family. "Vause is stubborn yet strong and independent. She's going through her own shit though, she doesn't need someone to add more shit to her fuck load of crap"

Red sounded genuinely concerned about Alex, Piper felt relieved that Alex wasn't alone in this hell hole but she wasn't sure how to react to Red's passive-aggressive threat. Despite her threat, she was concerned about Alex, _what kind of crap did Alex get into?_

"Like I said, I'm here to serve my time. That's it", Piper's voice was firm. Red gave her another weird look. She was probably surprised to hear Piper speak with no hidden agenda, she was even more surprised that Piper wasn't arguing back.

"You look thin" Red stated it as fact, she didn't like how thin this girl looked. It made her look sick. "I assume you remember the kitchen is, yes?"

Piper nodded her head in response, "Wash up, take a shower and Lunch is an hour". Red said before leaving her alone in the cubicle. Piper had a small smile, she hadn't had a proper conversation with anyone besides Lorna. Lichfield was most definitely more chatty than maximum prison.

Piper sat on her bed for a little longer, she was comfortable and still very tired. She took in a deep breath as she stood up and stretched her limbs. After she finished stretching, she grabbed her utilities and walked down the hall into the bathroom.

-00—

The shower was refreshing despite majority of the hot water being used up already. In max, she was restricted to 2 showers a week with only 5-10 minutes to spare. That, and she was restricted to a timetable.

After one last rinse to take the soap in her hair out, she stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her. She took her orange prison clothes and walked to the other side of the bathroom where the toilets and mirrors were.

She got changed into her orange prison suit and let out a soft sigh, her ribs were sticking out and you could easily count them. She put on her shirt and gritted her teeth as she remembered that she needed to go to the laundry room to discard her dirty clothes but she was afraid of seeing Alex in there.

She grabbed her clothes and started to walk to the laundry roo with dread, but she bumped into someone on her way out causing her to drop her dirty clothes on the floor, "Shit, I am so sorry"

Piper picked up her clothes quickly but she heard the person who she bumped into chuckle, "Holy shit, so the rumours are true"

Piper recognised that voice, Nicky Nicholas. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to act, she stood up and looked at Nicky with a distant look, "Rumours spread like wildfire, I almost forgot"

"You look like shit Chapman"

"Thank you?"

Nicky had this huge grin plaster on her face, which confused Piper even more, "So which rumour is true?"

"What?", Piper heard the rumours but her brain suddenly flashed back to the image of Nicky fucking Alex in her cubicle. She internally cringed at the image.

"Well the rumours you know, first rumour was you were dead and obviously that isn't true. Unless you're a fucking ghost, Second Rumour was that you were sent to SHU for the past 18 months and the third rumour. The third rumour is that you got an early release. So, which one?"

Piper looked at her, ' _why did no-one think that she was sent to MAX?',_ "Well, I can safely say that none of those rumours are true. I was sent to MAX"

Nicky's amused look suddenly faded, "Holy shit, no way", she couldn't believe that Piper Pussy Chapman had survived in Max for 18 months. Nicky didn't know why she held anger towards Piper. Well, she didn't hold any anger right now towards the girl, but for the last 18 months she had been bad mouthing Piper.

Nicky acted bitchy towards Piper because she had hurt Alex. Alex was like a sister to her, even if they had fucked…numerous times. The first couple of months, Alex was a fucking mess. Everyone had thought that Piper had died but the rumours dispersed once Pennsatucky got out of SHU and told everyone that she hadn't killed Piper.

Pennsatucky was even more confused about the fact that Piper got beaten up too, she said that she didn't lay a finger on that homosexual bitch, but no-one had believed her, except for her Christian freak group.

"Sorry for not living up to your expectations". Piper didn't know why she felt the urge to be sarcastically bitchy towards Nicky, she didn't dislike her, it was quite the opposite, she respected Nicky. Nicky acted like a tough bitch, but she was the kindest person in this prison.

Nicky decided to dial down on her bitch level and suddenly turned serious, "Shit Chapman. I was in MAX for 3 months for contraband possession, and I relapsed the second I got back here. It was fucking hell, you must be stronger than you look to survive for 18 months"

Piper scoffed, she never described herself to be strong, she did what was necessary in order to survive, "Look, I really need to do my laundry". Nicky nodded her head and stepped out of Piper's way.

"Look Chapman, the last time we saw each other it was under…weird circumstances"

"What is so weird about seeing you finger my ex-girlfriend who fucking hates me and wants nothing to do with me?" Piper slightly tilted her head to emphasise her sarcasm.

"I just want to say, I'm officially not fucking your ex and I hope we can be civil. Or at least not enemies because there's a lot of tension going around this place already"

Piper agreed with her, she didn't want to make enemies with Nicky, because if they were enemies then that would automatically make Red's family go against her. "Yea" Piper nodded her head, "But I'm not going to spit on my hand and shake yours to officialise this newfound truce"

Nicky chucked at this, "Agreed" she said before leaving the bathroom.

-00-

Piper remembered where the laundry room was, she walked slowly and carefully, she was honesty afraid of entering the room. She turned the corner and entered the room, the only noise she could hear was coming from the washing machine.

She let out a grateful sigh as the laundry room was empty. ' _I guess god doesn't hate me all that much'._ Piper walked over to the laundry basket that was filled with other dirty laundry. She stared to do her laundry on the table until she heard someone enter the room. She didn't bother to look over her shoulder, she assumed it was a guard.

"I'm just doing my laundry. I'll be out in a sec" Piper said as she folded her clothes. She heard the person move closer to her as she folded her clothes. The person was now standing on the opposite side of the table.

Piper looked up and instantly dropped her mouth, she felt like a complete idiot, but staring into those hypnotic green eyes, made her forget about everything. She wanted to say something but she couldn't. _'God…Fuck you'_

When she was in Max, she imagined this scenario going differently. She thought about all the different ways she was going to apologise to Alex. To be fair, this reunion was supposed to happen when they both got out of prison.

"Alex", she knew how pathetic she sounded, but the affect this woman had on her.

Piper internally cursed herself, she was supposed to stay far away from the women who made her heart clench. She fucked up her chance with Alex, and she didn't deserve a second chance…a third chance…

But here she was, staring at Alex who had her glasses on her head. Alex looked just as surprised as she did. Piper wished she had the superpower to read minds.

So many thoughts rushed through Alex's head, when she walked into the laundry room she saw a new inmate. Well, she assumed she was new as she was wearing the orange uniform.

Alex was going to tell the inmate to get the fuck out and go down to lunch, but then she heard the person talk. Alex didn't realise how much she yearned to hear that voice. God, it was so angelic.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Chapter 3_**

Alex heard her, she thought she was going crazy so she needed to see her for herself. She walked to the table where Piper was doing her laundry. This was real, she was real.

"Alex" Piper muttered pathetically. Alex looked at her with a mysterious look. She had to clench her fists to prevent herself from reaching out and stroking Piper's pale face.

"The rumours are true" Alex muttered. Piper was suddenly pulled out of her trance by Alex's raspy voice. She loved that voice, she had waited 18 months for this moment, the moment where they are in the same room again.

Piper let out a shaky breath that she didn't realise she was holding in, she didn't know what to say or what to do. She wanted to turn around and run away, but her feet wouldn't respond, it was as though they had forgotten how to move.

Here she was.

Frozen.

Alex's face was contorted with various emotions, anger, shock, sadness… maybe even relief. It took everything in Piper not to run into Alex's arm and apologise for choosing Larry over her. She wanted to apologise for so many things, but their problems were way to deep rooted.

A simple apology wasn't going to fix all of the fucked-up shit that existed between them, Alex's face suddenly broke out into a grin. The adorable dumbfounded look on Piper's face made her smile, that damn lost puppy look made her heart clench, "I should become a model if people stare at me the way you do"

Piper was once again, broken out of her trance, she closed her mouth and looked down at her dirty clothes, "Sorry what?"

Alex noticed that Piper diverted her attention to the dirty laundry, "You were staring", Alex pointed out. She didn't know what happened to Piper, but she was concerned. Piper looked skinner, which should be humanly impossible, "But I can't blame you for staring"

Piper smiled at this, it was the first, genuine smile that has formed since she had gotten out of MAX, she knew that Alex knew of the rumours, and she knew that Alex thought she had gotten out.

"So" Alex started to say, she was curious as to why Piper wasn't saying anything to her, "Why're you back here? Did you decide to steal from the liquor store to live up to your bad girl reputation? Or did Larry throw you under the bus to get onto my level of narcissism?"

Piper took a piece of paper and wrote down her name, she then stuck the piece of paper onto her laundry and shoved her dirty laundry into a bag. "Funny", Piper muttered as he proceeded to chuck the bag into the other basket filled with dirty laundry bags before looking back up to face Alex.

This time, her face held no expression, she felt a boiling anger in the pits of her stomach but she learnt how to keep her shit together, and she wasn't about to let loose now.

"Back here suggests that I got out of prison. I was sent to Max after the shit that went down with Pennsatucky" Piper saw the shocked look on her face, it was cute to see Alex Vause shocked. Alex Vause is never shocked, so the look on her face was priceless, Piper had to watch Alex in amusement, "Do you really think the officials would let me out when I fucked up an inmate's face?"

Alex knew that there was a possibility that Piper was sent to MAX for her violent outburst, but it was so much easier to be angry at her when Piper was living a perfect life with her perfect husband. Alex personally didn't know how fucked up MAX was, but she knew from what Nicky had told her, that MAX was so fucked up, the prisoners, the conditions, even the fucking guards were a lot more corrupted than Litchfield, and that's saying something.

"Fuck" Alex muttered, she mentally slapped her self. Her ex-lover just told her she spent 18 months in maximum prison, and all she can do is swear. Alex felt the sudden need to apologise to Piper for expecting the best outcomes, what was she supposed to say _? 'I am so sorry for thinking that you were off living a perfect, WASP-Y life with your husband'_

"Pipes", that pet name sounded perfect and heavenly to Piper when it come out of Alex's mouth, it naturally rolled off Alex's tongue, "I'm sorry". Alex once again, wanted to punch herself for how pathetic she sounded. She was still pissed that Piper chose Larry over her, but that didn't mean she didn't care about Piper.

Piper slightly stiffened, this didn't go unnoticed by Alex. Piper was slightly surprised to hear Alex apologise, "Don't", Piper didn't want to hear her apologies. Alex mistook Piper's stern voice as Piper being angry, but she wasn't angry. "I just meant, you don't need to apologise"

"We need to talk" Alex said, her smile faded and instead a serious look took over. This was the conversation that Piper wanted to avoid at all cost.

"We are talking right now" Piper knew how childish she sounded and Alex rolled her eyes and shot her an exasperated look.

"Pipes, a whole year has passed. The last time we saw each oth-"

Piper knew where this was going and decided to cut in, "Alex, you should know that I'm not with Larry. I haven't been with him since last Christmas and I know you told me not to come to you with my shit anymore so I promise that I will try to stay away from you because that's what you want right? For me to not come to you with my shit anymore?"

Piper was scared of the answer in all honesty, she didn't want to hear Alex telling her to stay the fuck out of her life, "That was over a year ago Pipes, I spent 3 months thinking that you were dead, until Pennsatucky told us you weren't, and I spent the rest of the year thinking that you were living your fucking WASPY life. And now you're back here, telling me that you were in fucking MAX for the best 18 months and you broke up with Larry…. So yeah, I spent a whole year being pissed at you but now… now I don't know how I feel", Alex adjusted her glasses. Piper smiled at the old habit, whenever Alex was confronting her own feelings, she would either pull her glasses up into her hair or she would have fiddled with the nose piece of the glasses.

"We still have a lot of shit to work through" Piper muttered, she looked at Alex who was looking down at her feet, "We can't keep jumping onto this vicious cycle of fucking each other, hurting each other, hating each other and then fucking each other again"

Alex nodded her head in agreement, "So what? We just pretend not to know each other?"

Piper was immediately alarmed by this, she didn't want to pretend not to know her. Well, she did decide very early on that she was going to ignore her, but now she was here, with Alex, alone in a laundry room. "Is that what you want?"

Alex flinched at this, "For fuck sakes. We're not in fucking high school. Yes, I want to be with you and I don't want to act like we didn't fuck numerous time in this hell hole. But I also know that the second we get back together, something shitty is going to happen that will cause us to have this-exact-conversation again"

"So, let's not fuck" Piper stated, Alex shot her a quizzical look, Piper let out a small laugh at Alex's expression, "We will take things slow. We are not allowed to fuck each other until…we both feel ready"

Alex stared at Piper with an unreadable gaze, Piper didn't want to fall into an uncomfortable silence so she turned around and started to leave. Alex wanted to call out her name and stop her from leaving. She wants to kiss her so badly but there was so many things fucked up in their lives. Alex walked around the table and caught Piper on the wrist.

"Jesus!", Piper shouted as she whipped around and instantly pulled out of Alex's grasp, quite aggressively. She just wasn't used to physical contact yet.

Alex instantly let go of Piper's wrist when she heard Piper scream. She didn't mean to hurt or scare her, "Shit Pipes". Alex saw a flash of fear appear on Piper's face, it was only there for a split second, but she immediately felt guilty for scaring her.

"Sorry" Piper apologised, "I'm not used to…you know, physical contact". Piper could feel a warm sensation on her wrist where Alex had just grabbed her, she hadn't realised that there was a bruise on her wrist from the hand cuffs. Alex's touch wasn't painful, in fact it felt as though her touch soothed the pain away.

Alex nodded her head, "Well, at least I know that you weren't touching anyone else while you were in MAX", her voice sounded sarcastic but there was an underlying message under that and Piper caught wind of it.

Piper flinched at her words but decided to flirt with her in order to cover it up, "Luckily for you, there was no Alex Vause for me to touch", Alex raised her eyebrows at her with a growing grin.

"Is Piper Chapman flirting with me?" Alex took a few steps closer to Piper, their bodies were almost touching. Piper's genuine smile grew too, this was not how she imagined this conversation going. This felt so natural, this is exactly what Piper wanted, the neutral atmosphere.

"Will you Alex Vause, accompany me to lunch?" Piper spoke in a gentleman-like-tone. Alex snorted at how dorky Piper was being, she could do this. Piper and Alex didn't need to have sex in order to have a strong relationship.

"Is this a lunch date? So much for taking this slow" Alex smirked, Piper scoffed.

"Hey" Piper said while pointing at Alex, "I said no fucking. I never said no prison dates. I haven't eaten since yesterday and I'm certain that prison food here is better than the shit they served us at MAX. So I'm going to lunch now, and if you so happen to be there with me, then it can be a prison lunch date"

Alex had a huge grin on her face. This feeling that they felt, it was so…natural.

Piper had walls up, it was made out of metal after being so emotionally close off for the past 18 months, but somehow... some how Alex Vause managed to break all of her walls down in a matter of seconds. Piper still had her own shit to work through, and Alex did to, but the both of them, together made everything so much easier.


	4. Chapter 4

**_Chapter 4_**

Alex and Piper were sitting across from each other on a table with their lunch, Red had given Piper extra food to fatten her up. "Why are the Latino's working in the kitchen?" Piper asked as she played with her food that looked like some chewed on it and then vomited it right back out.

"Red got caught smuggling contraband in her kitchen so Gloria and her girls took over. A couple shit went down with them such as Red trying to sabotage Gloria but after a while the 2 called a truce" Alex replied as she ate her food, she shot Piper a look that said, _'Eat your food'._

"Sounds like I missed out on all the fun" Piper said sarcastically, she was still going to implement her plan to keep out of everyone's shit. She will give the cold shoulder to everyone except Alex.

"Trust me, there's a lot of shit still going on" Alex looked at Piper who was still playing with her food, she was concerned about Piper's eating habits but she was more worried about Piper getting caught up in all of Red's shit, "Please don't get involved" Alex said as she put her fork down and look at Piper with a stern look that said, ' _I'm not fucking around'_

Piper's eyebrows knitted at that stern look, "What? I'm not going to get involved Alex. I only have 3 months left... well I think I have 3 months left" Piper wasn't sure if she had 3 months left, but she knew that if she didn't get sent down to SHU and got little to no SHOTS than she'll be out in no time.

Alex nodded her head with approval, "Good", she replied as she took another spoonful of…porridge? She wasn't sure what the hell was being served. She noticed that Piper still hadn't taken a bite, "Pipes, you need to eat"

Piper shot her a look but seeing how Alex was more stubborn than the last time she saw her, she decided to lift her spoon, shoot Alex a smile, and then eat. "Happy Mom?", she had to hold in her vomit in order to eat the food that tasted like vomit.

"Yes, my darling" Alex imitated a southern mother.

"Look how close you guys have gotten"

Alex and Piper looked up to face Nicky holding her tray and sitting down next to her. Nicky sat down next to Alex while Lorna sat next to Piper.

"Fuck off Nickels" Alex shot with amusement at her friend. Nicky smiled at her friend, the 2 of them were like sisters, Alex was there for her when she came back from MAX and relapsed on drugs.

Piper stared at the 2 of them before playing with her food again, the first taste of prison food at Litchfield was…unpleasant.

"It looks like Red and Gloria fought over the menu for lunch again" Nicky said as she watched the puke, looking food slip off of her spoon.

"it's not that bad" Morello said as she took a bite of her food, "if you hold your breath and swallow it like a pill, then it will taste so much better"

Piper smiled at Morello's positivity, "Yea-I can't eat this". Piper said as she dropped her spoon in the vomit looking food. She picked up her apple and bit into it. The apple was soft and dry, but it was the only food that she could manage at this point.

"Do you want my apple?" Alex asked, a sudden urge to take care of Piper arose. Piper gave her a soft smile and shook her head.

"No thank you, this apple is the only thing that I can stomach right now" Piper took another bite of her apple. Nicky looked at them, she was trying to figure out the relationship between Alex and Piper since she sat on the table. She could ask them but where was the fun in that.

"So, did you guys have make up sex in the laundry room?" Nicky said casually as she ate her mutated porridge. Piper choked on her apple while Alex slapped Nicky's arm. Morello however was just as curious Nicky and shared an amused look with Nicky.

"We can be in a room, alone, without having sex" Alex replied casually.

Alex and Nicky began arguing about how that isn't humanely possible for Alex and Piper. Piper started kept her head down low, feeling embarrassing by this conversation.

When Piper looked up, she saw someone staring at her. She was tall and had wild, long curly hair. There was something off about her, Piper hated the way that women were staring at her. Piper stood up, "I'm going to get chuck this out. You guys need anything?"

Alex and Nicky were way to immersed in their conversation to acknowledge Piper getting up, Morello simply shook her head, "No thanks. I will keep these kids in check"

Piper gave Morello a grateful smile as she picked up her tray and walked to the trash can. When she got their she could feel someone behind her. It wasn't who she was expecting to see though, it was Suzanne, who's also called 'Crazy Eyes'.

"Shit" Piper was startled by Suzanne's sudden appearance, "Suzanne. Hi"

Suzanne couldn't hold in her guilt, "I am so sorry for what happened. I don't do things like that, I don't hit people for no reason"

Suzanne spoke so fast that it threw Piper off, "Wait" Piper said as she reached out grab Suzanne's arm to calm her down, "Suzanne. Calm down okay? You saved me"

"No" Suzanne shook her head in confusion, "I hit you. Like… I punched you…in the face" she said as she imitated punching Piper in the air.

"Suzanne" Piper said as she moved a bit back to avoid getting punched in the face, "If you didn't punch me when you did, then I could've killed someone. So, you did save me. Thank you" Piper was truly grateful to Suzanne despite the outcomes.

Suzanne was still confused, "Wait… so you forgive me?". Piper smiled at her.

"Yes Suzanne, I forgive you" Piper said. Suzanne was still confused, she was hunched over trying to figure out what just happened. She looked over Piper's shoulder to see Vee walking up to them.

"Suzanne" Vee said in a low calm voice, Piper didn't trust this woman. This girl rubbed her the wrong way. "Who's this? I haven't seen this girl before"

Suzanne pointed at Piper while Piper was looking between the two, "You know you could just ask me. I'm standing right here"

Suzanne for some reason looked nervous at this exchange. Vee still had a smile on her face, she ignored Piper's remark and continued to look at Suzanne.

"Suzanne. Who is this?" She repeated her question with more authority.

Piper hated how she was being ignored but she bit the inside of her cheeks to stop herself from saying something that could make her end up getting involved.

"Piper… Chapman. Piper Chapman" Suzanne replied, she diverted her eyes from making contact with Vee's mysterious gaze. Piper didn't like how Vee was making Suzanne her little bitch.

"Look at me when you are speaking to me" Vee's demeanour completely changed. Piper could taste blood in her mouth as she bit really hard on her cheek. She clenched her jaw to stop herself from shooting poisonous words at this manipulative bitch.

Suzanne looked up at Vee and started to hit herself on the head, "Stupid. Stupid Stupid", Piper froze for a few seconds from the sudden action. She grabbed Suzanne's wrist to stop her from hitting her self.

"Suzanne" Piper had a firm grip on her wrist and waited for her to calm down, "You good?". Suzanne nodded her head and relaxed a little.

"You" Vee said as she turned her attention to Piper who was feeling extremely uncomfortable.

"I have a name" Piper said

Vee flash a smile, a smile that said she had some hidden agenda. Piper knew this smile well, "You are Red's new bunkmate, yes?"

Piper finally understood what was happening, there was tension between Vee and Red. But she wasn't going to get involved in this.

"Good Talk" Piper said, her voice was directed to Suzanne. She turned around to walk back to her table but Vee reached out and grabbed Piper's arm aggressively, forcing Piper to stop walking.

Vee felt Piper stiffen under her touch and smiled sadistically.

-00—

"Fuck off Nickels, just because you and Morello can't keep your hands off each other, doesn't mean Piper and I can't" Alex looked over to Piper who was talking to Yvonne Parker, also known as Vee.

Alex clenched her fist and dug her nails into her palm, Nicky could practically feel Alex seething with pure anger. Morello thought Alex was seething angrily over the argument and kicked Nicky under the table. She twitched her head in Alex's direction.

"What the hell?" Nicky shouted as she felt Morello kick her

Morello mouthed, 'Apologise'

Nicky rolled her eyes, "Look Vause, I'm sorry", her voice didn't sound very sincere. When Alex didn't respond, she looked over to where Alex was looking. "Oh fuck" Nicky said as she sat up.

Alex shot up from her seat when she saw Vee grab Piper like that and walked towards them. Vee was amused to see Alex so riled up, the woman usually had a calm and unaffected aura.

"Let go of her" Alex's voice was laced in venom, she hated this bitch, and she hated how Vee was dragging Piper into this crap.

Vee smirked at the sudden outburst of Alex Vause, she released Piper out of her iron grip. Piper, who had the urge to beat the women unconscious, dig a hole, and then drop the fucking bitch into the hole, rubbed her arm that was probably going to bruise.

Piper knew how to defend herself, she had learnt how to fight in MAX which is surprising. Her first roommate in Max was a UFC fighter who had beat her opponent to death. Despite knowing how to fight, her body was still fragile and she easily bruised.

Alex noticed Piper rubbing her arm, she moved closer to Piper and whispered, "You okay?". Piper nodded her head in response. Everyone in the kitchen was now looking at this group, even the guard named Thomas Humphrey, could feel the tension in the kitchen. He was rather amused with the tension in the room and decided to let this play out.

"I was just saying hi to Red's new bunk mate" Vee said with a smile, Taystee stood up and walked up to the group. She stood next to Suzanne and asked if she was okay.

"Well don't"

"Hey" Morello said, she decided to play peacemakers, "Let's all calm down and grab a cup of water okay?"

"Shut up" Vee spat, this violent outburst shocked everyone, normally she kept a calm and cool head when talking to people in a group.

Nicky instantly got defensive, "Back off you fucking, bitch", Nicky was extremely protective over Lorna. Lorna was one of the nicest and most genuine human being she knew, for someone to speak in a dangerous tone to her made Nicky extremely angry.

Piper felt the tension grow thicker, she knew if this escalated any further then her ass was going to get dragged into all of this shit, "You know what? I am so stupid" Piper hit her forehead to emphasise how dumb she was, "I just remembered that I had to go and talk to Healy about my new work assignment" Piper grabbed Alex's hand and started to drag her while pushing Nicky, who was tense and ready to get violent, out of the cafeteria. Morello didn't need to be pushed or dragged out, she simply got the gist and followed Chapman and the 2 angry women outside.

Vee turned to Taystee and Suzanne, her angry features were suddenly replaced with a calm look, "I want to know everything about that white bitch"


	5. Chapter 5

**_Chapter 5_**

 ** _Author Notes:_** _Thank you so much for your reviews. I really do appreciate your feedback and I will try to make my chapters longer. If have you several ideas as to where this story will be going, but if you have any ideas, then feel free to voice it._

* * *

Piper shoved Nicky into her cubicle that was shared with Red while still holding onto Alex's hand. She dragged Alex to her cubicle as well with Morello following them. Piper didn't notice how warm Alex's hands were. Alex however smirked at Piper who shot her a confused look, until Alex squeezed Piper's hand.

"Sorry" Piper instantly let go of Alex's hand, and just like that her hands were cold again.

"Jesus Christ Chapman, what the hell was that for?" Nicky shouted as she was shoved into the cubicle.

Piper was infuriated with her current situation, "I have been here for less than 2 hours", Piper shouted angrily, "And I already made enemies with a fucking black woman for no reason!". She had one rule, to stand fucking clear, of all of this bullshit.

Nicky decided now, out of all times, was the best time to crack a joke, "Your presence is very unlikeable Chapman"

Alex facepalmed her forehead while Morello just shook her head, "What?" Nicky asked. Piper was let out an infuriated scoff and walked out of the cubicle. "What? I thought I could lighten the mood" Nicky defended herself as she sat on Red's bed. Morello took a seat next to her while shaking her head.

"Seriously Nichols? Now's a great time for your sarcasm" Alex said before chasing Piper down the cubicle.

-00-

"Pipes" Alex called out, when Piper didn't turn around, Alex ran in front of Piper and forced her to stop walking. They were now standing in the middle of the hallway with no guards around, "Nicky was just being an ass. She didn't mean what she said, she just gets defensive whenever someone looks at Morello the wrong way"

Piper frowned and rubbed her eyes tiredly, "I know she is"

Alex's hand was still on Piper's shoulder, "Sorry about Vee. There's this whole shit going down with Red and her, which automatically means that Red's family is involved"

"Good thing that I'm not a part of red's family" Piper spat angrily as she manoeuvred her way around Alex to walk to Caputo's office.

"Piper, where are you going?" Alex shouted as she sped-walked to keep up with Piper's quick pace, "Healy's office is the other way"

Piper scoffed, "I'm not going to see that fucking prick", Alex frowned with concern as she heard Piper's venomous tone.

Alex grabbed Piper's shoulders gently to stop her from walking, "What's your problem with Healy?"

Piper's face scrutinised with anger, "Gee, I don't know. Maybe, I don't want to see the guy, who saw Pennsatucky corner me outside in the freezing cold with a make shift knife in her hand, to be my counsellor"

Alex held out her hand's in front of her, "Hold on a sec, Healy saw this happen and didn't do shit about it?"

"Oh no, don't get me wrong. He did do something about it. He fucking left. He decided to let his homophobic ass get in the way of his actual job" Piper shouted, all of this anger poured out of all, she was so mad. She wanted to punch something, better yet, someone.

"Fuck Pipes" Alex knew this was deep shit. She had prayed to God, begging him to bring Piper back to her, but now that Piper was here, she felt guilty. She hated feeling guilty, guilt is what fucks people up.

Piper's day just keeps getting better, Healy walked out of Caputo's office and almost clashed into her, "For fuck sakes" Piper muttered as she stared at Healy with resentment, Healy however looked worried and slightly confused.

"Chapman" Caputo's voice boomed from behind, he stood up from his chair and fixed his tie, "Come in, you too Vause and Healy"

Piper was still clenching her jaw to stop herself from swearing at Healy, but she was grateful to have Alex and Caputo in the same room as her now.

Alex and Piper took a seat while Healy stood in the back of the room.

"Good to see you again Chapman" Caputo said sincerely

"I wish I could say the same to you"

Caputo nodded his head in agreement, "As you know probably already know, things here are the same yet, different", Piper nodded her head in response, "Healy, what's Chapman's job assignment?"

Healy looked at the paper work in his hand as he tried to figure out what Chapman's job assignment was, "She's working in the sewing factory"

Piper knitted in confusion, "I don't sew"

"Well you'll learn" Healy shot back, Alex turned around to glare at Healy and so did Caputo.

"It's fine Chapman, you will be using sewing machines, plus there will be someone to help you out if you still don't know" Caputo said, he opened his drawer to get out Chapman's and Vause's case files.

"Healy, get the fuck out of here" Caputo said, he needed to speak with the inmates about their trial, Healy gave one last glance at Piper, he was worried leaving her alone with the boss man. "Now!"

"Okay Vause, let's start with you. Would you like Chapman to stay or wait outside?"

Alex looked at Piper who shrugged her shoulders. Piper was curious about what Caputo wanted to talk to Alex about, but she didn't want to pry.

Alex always hated secrets, she didn't want to hide anything from Piper, "She can stay"

Caputo looked between the 2 and noticed there was some connection between them, "Okay" he clapped his hands and opened up her case files.

"Good news first, your trial with Kubra has been processed and since you kept your word and testified against the drug dealing bastard, your sentence has been reduced"

"How much?" Alex asked, her hands tightened around the arm handle of the chair

"Your 10-year offence for heroin trafficking has been reduced to 3-4 years. 3 years if you get maximum of 5 shots and no visits to the SHU", a huge smile appeared on Alex's face. She had never felt this type of relief before. Piper looked at her and gave her a small smile. Piper was happy for Alex, she truly was but she was still confused about the Kubra Case.

"Now where's the bad news?" Alex asked, she knew that God wasn't going to make this easy for her.

Caputo roughly rubbed his mouth nervously, "Kubra isn't serving time. He was let out due to insufficient amount of evidence. There were multiple complications with his case"

Alex eyes widened at this newfound fact, "Wait, he's not in prison? Are you fucking kidding me?" Alex stood up from her seat and slammed her fists against Caputo's desk. Caputo flinched but didn't scream or punish her. He knew that Vause wasn't violent.

"Alex" Piper tried to calm her down, she didn't want Alex getting into any more trouble. Piper wasn't surprised about Kubra getting out, she knew that he had connections within the court,

"The fucking lawyers guaranteed, that Kubra would be incarcerated, how the fuck did he get out?" Alex shouted, she sold him out. Kubra wasn't going to let this go, he was going kill her. It doesn't matter if she is in prison, or in the fucking Alps. He will have someone find her and have her killed.

"Vause, you need to calm down. I know this is fucked up, but this doesn't only affect you" Caputo said as he shot Piper a sympathetic look. Alex looked a Piper who cursed under her breath.

"What does Piper have to do with this?" Alex asked, her hands were still on Caputo's desk.

"Sit down Vause" Caputo said with authority, Piper bit her lip nervously and closed her eyes. Piper knew why Caputo gave her a sympathetic look. Alex looked at Piper and noticed how she bit her lip to stop herself from crying.

Alex complied and slumped against the chair, "Chapman, your case is… complicated"

"Complicated", Piper mocked under her breath, "Just tell me the bad news already"

Alex flinched at Piper's sudden snappy tone, "Your testimony clashed with Vause's... the authorities know that you lied under oath"

"Oh shit" Alex muttered, she didn't even think that Piper would be testifying against Kubra, she felt so stupid for being so naive, of course Piper was going to be put on trial.

"You have fucking 3 years added to your fucking sentence" Caputo's usual calm exterior was overtaken by anger, "Why didn't you take the plea deal?" Caputo asked curiously, "If you took the god damn deal, then you would be out already", he was just as angry about this situation as Vause and Chapman were.

He took this job, in order to see justice through. He knew that Chapman is a good person, and so is Vause. Majority of the people in this place are good, but the fucking justice system are blinded by power that they couldn't see it.

"What plea deal?" Alex asked, ' _was it the same plea deal that I had gotten?'_

Piper rested her elbows on her shaking knees, "I got offered a plea deal. If I testified against Kubra then I would be let out of prison on probation". Alex could barely hear Piper as she muttered.

"Why didn't you take it Pipes? You would be fucking out by now" Alex was pissed that Piper didn't take the fucking deal. Piper hated the pissy tone that Alex just used, it made her own anger, that she had been able to supress for months, to boil.

This time, it was Piper's turn to lose her shit, she suddenly stood up and kicked her chair into the bookcase, she could still feel the anger within her grow, so she decided to punch the wall, repeatedly, "Part of the fucking deal was to say that you fucking manipulated me into doing it" Piper shouted as she continued to punch the wall. Alex jumped out of her chair and walked to over to Piper cautiously.

"Chapman!" Caputo shouted, he slammed his fist against the desk causing Piper to stop punching the wall. Piper's knuckled were now bleeding and her blood stained his wall. He couldn't care less about his wall, he was more so concerned about Chapman despite her violent outburst.

Caputo knew that Piper wasn't a violent person, it was this place, the fucking system made her a dangerous person.

"Pipes…"

The guilt only grew. Piper leaned her head against the wall and let out a supressed sob. Alex was sure to be gentle, she placed her hand on Piper's back and rubbed it in circles.

"I had 3…3 fucking months left" Piper sobbed, Alex hated this, she knew that she was the cause of this pain. Alex gently pulled Piper into a hug, she could feel Piper's shaking body and it was breaking her heart.

Caputo rubbed his face with his palm tiredly, "I need to get a bucket to clean this fucking mess. Before I get back, I want Chapman to go to medic and check out her wrist. If you are still in here by the time I'm back, I'll be sending you both down to Shu"

Alex nodded her head as she tightened her hold on Piper, after a few minutes, she felt Piper calm down. Piper pulled out of Alex's hug and shook her head, "I've barely been here for a full day, and my life is already fucked up"

Alex didn't know what to say, she knew she was the reason why Piper was here in the first place, "I know you told them that I met Kubra on multiple occasions" Piper muttered as she took a step back from Alex, "Part of the plea deal was to say that you manipulated me into smuggling the money, but I knew that you were going to extra time if I dumped all my shit on you…so I lied. You told them the truth and I…. lied"

Alex took a step closer to Piper but Piper raised her bleeding hand up to stop her, "Good thing we didn't fuck, right?" Alex could hear the crack in Piper's voice. She wanted to hug her and apologise to her. But what would she apologise for? For saying the truth?

"We would've ended up in the vicious cycle of Vauseman" Piper voice cracked, she kept moving back, away from Alex. Alex wanted to hold Piper in her arms and fix this, but she couldn't. Before Alex could say anything, Piper stormed out of the office and ran down the hallway in tears.

Alex clenched her eyes shut, she had never experienced this type of guilt before. She wasn't even sure if Piper was pissed at her. Piper's passive-aggressive tone made it even more unbearable. It would be so much easier if Piper screamed at her and told her how much she hated her, but instead, she stated the facts.


	6. Chapter 6

**_Chapter 6_**

Piper was currently sitting on a toilet seat with the lid down, she covered her mouth with her right hand to suppress her sobs. Her left hand was throbbing and bleeding and she didn't know what she was going to do.

She felt bad for leaving Alex like that, she just couldn't handle all of the anger that had been building up. Piper wanted to be mad at Alex, but this was in no way her fault, she didn't know that Piper was going to lie to authorities.

When Piper heard about the plea deal, she considered taking it.

"Fuck" Piper muttered, she rubbed her eyes tiredly

 _Flashback_

 _"If you, Piper Elizabeth Chapman, hold Alex Pearl Vause, responsible for manipulating you into smuggling the drug money, you will be released on probation. You will also admit to knowing Kubra Balik and witnessing his interaction with your manipulator"_

 _"So, you want me to play victim?" Piper couldn't believe what she was hearing, she was happy to hear that she could get released but that would mean acting like she was a victim._

 _"That is the only way that you could be released"_

 _A sarcastic scoff came out of Piper's mouth, she contemplated on taking the deal, "and what will happen to Vause?", saying Alex's last name like that sounded off, but it was a good technique to distance herself._

 _"She will get an extra 5 years added to her sentence for you while also being sent to a maximum prison"_

 _"Are you joking?" Piper asked as she resisted the hand cuffs on her hand, "Fuck you" she spat_

 _Flashback End_

Piper was contemplating whether she should have taken the plea deal now… no, she couldn't do that to Alex.

"Hurry the fuck up" someone shouted as they banged on the stall that Piper was in, her head shot up and she quickly discarded the rough toilet paper that was drenched in her tears and blood down the toilet.

She opened the stall and almost ran into the person who was banging on the door, "Damn girl" Poussey said as she almost collided with Piper, "Are you okay?", she noticed that the girl's knuckles were bleeding and her eyes were red and swollen.

"Great" Piper said sarcastically, she walked over to the sink and turned on the water to wash the blood from her knuckles. She winced at the sudden cold, contact and the stinging pain.

Poussey looked at Piper, she walked over to her and looked at her knuckle, "Damn, you have been here for less than 4 hours and you're already punching someone. Remind me not to get on your bad side" Poussey gave Piper some toiled paper to wipe the blood and water off of her knuckles.

"I didn't punch someone, I punched a wall" Piper muttered, she gave Poussey a grateful smile as she took the toilet paper from her hand, "But I would really like to punch that Vee bitch"

Piper wasn't sure if Poussey was a part of that clique, but she couldn't care at this point, surprisingly enough, Poussey laughed at this, "I would pay good money to see that happen"

Piper decided that she didn't need to go medic, her knuckles had stopped bleeding and she could barely feel the pain, "Aren't you apart of her mean girls clique?"

"Bitch, hell nah. Vee is a manipulative cunt, I'm not going to get caught up in her drama with your family" Poussey said as she walked into the stall to pee.

"You mean Red? I'm not a part of her family" Piper said as she turned off the running water and chucked the bloodied toilet paper into the bin. Poussey flushed the toilet and walked out of the stall.

"Well, your Red's bunk buddy, you sit with her favourite daughter Nicky and Morello, and you are fucking the tall white chick" Poussey said as she washed her hands, "You are pretty involved with Red's family"

Piper scoffed at this as she leaned against the sink, this is exactly why she didn't want to come back here, "You are pretty involved with Vee's family. You are best friends with Taystee who seems to have a mother daughter relationship with Vee. You sit with her in the cafeteria and better yet, you let Vee manipulate Suzanne into being her little bitch"

Poussey turned the tap off and looked at Piper, "I need to get drunk" Poussey said as she started to walk out of the bathroom, "You coming or what?"

-00—

Nicky was trying to find Chapman and Vause, Lorna just gave her an hour lecture on apologising for making a joke at the wrong time. She went to the laundry room, the tv room and the yard, but she couldn't find them.

She was ready to give up until she saw Vause walk into the dorm rooms, _'For fuck sakes, I fucking went everywhere to look for this bitch, and here she is'_

Nicky followed her into the dorms, which was now filled with other inmates, and watched Alex walk into her own cubicle. Alex went into her cubicle and collapsed onto her bed, she lifted her legs off the floor and placed it on her bed, her back was pressed against the wall.

She took off her glasses and placed it on the pillow next to her as she rubbed her eyes with frustration.

"Yo Vause", Alex looked up to see Nicky leaning against the wall, "Where's Chapman?", Nicky asked, she walked over to Alex and sat down next to her on her bed.

Alex shook her head and twiddled with her thumb, "I don't know" She muttered, she was pissed at herself for not chasing after her, but she was even more pissed at this whole situation.

"You ran out with Chapman like 30 minutes ago, what happened?" Nicky refrained herself from making a sex joke considering the tense atmosphere.

"I fucked up" Alex said as she shook her head, she let out a sarcastic chuckle, "This was my chance, we were going to make things work this time. I wasn't going to hurt her, and she wasn't going to hurt me"

Nicky looked at her with confusion, "Vause, what happened?", her voice was stern and caring.

"Kubra's trial" Alex said simply, Nicky knew about the trial already, "Remember how I took the plea deal?"

Nicky nodded her head, she still didn't understand what Kurbra's trial had to do with this, "Well, it turns out the only reason why I got the plea deal, was because Piper turned it down"

"What, Chapman was on trial too?"

Alex nodded her head, "Yep, part of her plea deal was to throw me under the bus, but…she didn't, she lied for me"

Nicky smiled at this, "So why so negative then? She didn't hand you over to the wolves, should you be cheering or something?"

"Yea, under normal circumstances" Alex said as she nodded her head, "But, she lied Nicky. She lied and I told the truth"

Nicky finally understood what happened, "Oh fuck" She cursed, "How long?"

Alex rubbed her forehead, "3-fucking-years", Nicky shook her head. Chapman was supposed to be out in 3 months, not 3 years.

She already spent a whole year and 6 months in MAX, plus another 5 months in here. Piper got into a lot of shit within the 2 years that she has been in prison, how the fuck was she going to survive 3 years?

"Well" Nicky said in a lighter tone, "At least Kubra's in prison", she looked at Alex who looked even more pissed, if that was even possible, "Oh fuck…don't tell me"

"Fucking authorities" Alex said as she hit her head back onto the wall, "They let him walk. That fucking prick got out clean, while Piper got fucking 3 years added"

"How about you? You took the plea deal" Nicky said, there has to be some good news in this load of shit.

Alex let out a sigh and picked up her glasses to fiddle with it, "My 10-year sentence has been reduced to 3-4 years"

Nicky let out a congratulating laugh, "Congrats Vause, at least you are getting out before me", Alex let out a small laugh. The 2 remained silent for a few seconds.

"I might not make it to my release" Alex muttered, Nicky raised her eyebrow at Alex.

"You're not planning on killing yourself, are you?", her voice was light with sarcasm, but there was concern in her voice too.

"Kubra is out" Alex shouted, she suddenly stood up and faced Nicky, "He is going to kill me, he knows I testified against him"

"Vause" Nicky said as she too stood up, she wasn't as tall as Alex but she looked up at her to make eye contact, "Do I need to remind you where you are? You are in prison; the last place Kubra would want to be"

"You don't understand" Alex began pacing around her cubicle, "Kubra, isn't going to let this go. He's too much of a pussy to come in here himself. He's going to send someone in here, to kill me"

Alex didn't care if she sounded like a paranoid bitch, "Vause, it's going to be pretty hard to kill you when you are in prison, even if he does send someone out to get you"

"You don't know him like I do"

"Maybe not" Nicky shouted back, "But I do know that you are not alone Vause. You have family in here, if someone is out to get you, then we will deal with it as a family. For fuck sakes, were you planning on handling this all on your own?"

Alex calmed down a bit, she knew that Red and her family would do anything for her. Loyalty is what bonded them, she was helping Red out with her problem with Vee, not because Vee did anything to harm her personally, but because Vee attacked a member of her family, "I know" She finally muttered

"Look, if you need me to do background checks on everyone who you suspect to be a hitman for the next 3 years, then I'll do it" Nicky said calmly, "But don't you fucking dare lose your shit in here Vause. If you fucking lose it in here, then you'll never make it out", Alex knew this was true so she nodded her head in response.

Before Alex could respond to Nicky she heard a guard shouting at an inmate, she walked out of her cubicle to see why the guard was shouting.

-00-

"You are out of bounds inmate! Go back to the fucking ghetto" Humphry shouted as he pointed at Poussey who was in Red's cubicle.

"Whatever" Poussey muttered, she glanced one last look at Chapman before leaving the cubicle, "Try not to vomit your guts out"

Nicky glanced up to look at Alex, "What the fuck is she doing in Red's cube?"

"I doubt she was planting anything on Red, she isn't one of Vee's main bitch" Alex said as she put her glasses on.

Nicky nodded her head but started walking to Red's cube, "Better safe than sorry", Alex followed her into the cubicle.

When she walked into the cubicle, she hadn't expected to see Piper lying down on her bed peacefully, "You don't think Washington drugged her do you?"

Alex closed her eyes and pinched her nose while shaking her head, "Seriously?" Alex muttered before walking to Piper's bed. She crouched down to see Piper's face more clearly. She moved the strand of hair, gently caressing her face as she made sure that Piper wasn't hurt.

She could feel Piper's warm breath against her hand, she also noticed a different smell. "So, was she drugged?" Nicky asked as she looked under Red's bed to ensure that there were no contraband being planted.

"No" Alex said as she grabbed the spare blanket and tucked Piper on, "But she is wasted"

Nicky fixed Red's bed, making sure it looked clean and untouched, "Yeah, well... that makes more sense. I wouldn't know where she'd get the drugs anyway"

Alex got up and sat on Red's bed with Nicky. She silently watched Piper sleep. Nicky looked up at her, "This isn't creepy at all. Let's just sit here and watch your girlfriend sleep"

Alex ignored Nicky's comment, "The black bags under her eyes" she muttered softly, "She hasn't gotten a good sleep for a while". Nicky could relate to her, she had been to MAX and she could barely sleep.

They were forced to stay in their room for 20 hours a day, the only time you were allowed out was to do your job or to take a shower. You were allowed outside 2 days a week, but even then, she there was a fence that restricted their freedom.

"The beds were just a slab of concrete" Nicky muttered, Litchfield was paradise in comparison to Max.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Alex hated that Piper was in stuck In MAX for such a long time. Nicky always got this distant look whenever she talks about, which she rarely does.

"She was there for over a year" Nicky stated, "There's no way she came out of that place unscathed"


	7. Chapter 7

**_Chapter 7_**

Red was talking to Gloria about the choices for dinner when Alex and Nicky walked in.

"You call this load of crap dinner?" Red asked Gloria aggressively at Gloria as she tasted the stew in the pot, "This is rubbish, even a homeless dog wouldn't eat this shit"

Gloria grabbed her wooden scooper and pointed it at Red, "This 'shit' came from the package that they gave us. I don't have control over the produce that comes in, if you want to complain, then call the fucking president and see if he gives a shit about what food we eat"

"I think now's a great time to jump in" Nicky said as she walked to stand next to Red, "Red, we need to talk"

Alex gave Gloria a look that said, ' _You don't want to get involved'._ Gloria understood and handed Vause the wooden scooper, "Make sure she doesn't touch my pot", she said before leaving the kitchen. Alex eyebrows furrowed, confused as to what to do with the wooden scooper in her hand. She put the scooper into the pot and walked over to where Nicky and Red were sitting.

"What the hell was that at lunch?" Red spat angrily, she was holding a knife in her hand which made her even more threatening.

Nicky shrugged her shoulders while Alex defended herself, "She was going to drag Piper into this so I told her to back off"

Red had a calm look as she raised her eyebrow, "So Chapman's involved now?"

"No!" Alex shouted immediately, Nicky gave her a look that said, ' _Tone it down a notch',_ "Piper isn't involved, we keep this between the family"

Red wasn't convinced, Piper was her bunkmate and also friends with most of her family, there was no way Piper wasn't going to get involved, "Okay", she didn't want to argue with Alex over this matter, the tall women was stubborn.

"Oh, but just wait, the day just keeps getting better" Nicky said, she grabbed a toothpick from the metal table and chewed on it with amusement, "Vause, tell Red about Kubra"

Alex told her everything that happened, about Piper and Kubra's release. Red stood there with unamused expression, Alex wasn't able to tell how Red felt about this.

"So, Chapman is here for another 3 years and you think she won't get involved in this shit with Vee" Red asked. The blunt question mad Alex's mouth dropped, after everything that she had just told her, she decides to ask about Piper's involvement.

Nicky had a huge grin plastered on her face, this was the most amusing thing she's seen all day, "Oh this is going to get good"

"You're fucking kidding me, right?" Alex shouted angrily although Red simply shrugged her shoulders.

"What's there to kid about?" Red asked calmly, "I am her bunk mate, you are her girlfriend, sorry, ex-girlfriend. You can try to keep her out of this but it's not going to last"

"I will keep her out of this shit for as long as I can" Alex said stubbornly, Nicky's smile didn't falter for even a second.

"I give it 3 days max" Nicky said, Red shook her head.

"She's already involved. Vee isn't going to let your little interaction be forgotten. Chapman made quite the first impression on her. Speaking of Chapman, where is she?" Red asked

Alex fixed her glasses while muttering, "Passed out drunk"

Red demeanour was now changing, "She just got back here, how the fuck did she get drunk already?"

"Hooch" Nicky said, she was still amused by this situation.

"Fucking Washington" Red muttered under her breath, she walked over to Gloria's pot and started to stir it, "When was Kubra's trial?", she suddenly asked

Alex looked at Nicky who just shrugged, "a couple months ago, probably 3"

Red hummed thoughtfully as she stirred the pot, "What're you thinking ma?" Nicky asked

"3 months" Red said, she added extra salt into the pot, "The new inmates that have been transferred into here. Kubra could have hired any one of them to kill you"

Alex thought Red was fucking around, "Funny", she spat as she leaned against the cabinet.

"There's nothing funny about it" Red dropped the scooper into the pot and looked straight into Alex's eyes, "If Kubra is as resourceful as you say he is, then he can easily hire someone in MAX, who was on the list to transfer here, to kill you"

Nicky let out a nervous laugh, "So what? Do we question every new inmate that comes in here?" She asked, "Hey inmate, were you hired by a drug dealing sociopath to kill my friend Vause over there?", Nicky imitated.

"Real Classy" Alex replied, she crossed her arms over her chest, "What do we do Red?"

Red wasn't sure how to approach this problem, she was still surprised that Vause had come to her for help considering how stubborn she was, but she knew she had to give some credit to Nicky.

"We can't do much until we find out who is the hitman, until then don't let your guard down. Vause, avoid being alone when possible. Anyone who gives you the wrong impression, you make a mental note of them" Red said firmly, she didn't know if there was even a hitman or not, but she knew that if Vause lost her shit in here, then she would be lost forever, "Now get the fuck out of my kitchen"

Alex shot Red a grateful smile before leaving the kitchen. Nicky stood and followed Vause, but Red tugged on her arm gently and muttered, "Keep an eye on her, make sure she doesn't lose her shit in here". Nicky nodded her head understandingly.

-00—

Piper woke up with a splitting head, she groaned in pain as she grabbed her head. She noticed the difference in her bed, the once concrete slab that caused her back to ache, was replaced with an uncomfortable mattress.

She suddenly remembered being transferred from MAX to Litchfield, and she instantly wished she was drunk again.

The last thing she remembered was following Poussey to the library to grab her secret stash of hooch. The 2 of them sat in the library and talked about how they had gotten to this point in their lives. Piper just wanted to forget about all of this crap, the alcohol made it easier to forget, but it didn't work as well as drugs. It was a close second though.

Piper threw her legs over the edge of the bed and forced herself to sit up, she felt nauseous and dizzy, but she wasn't going to throw up. She has been through worse. Her throat was sore and her headache was growing, she would kill to have an aspirin.

Piper noticed that the room had gotten darker and while there was still chatter filling the dorms, she could tell it was night-time, _'How long have I been asleep for?'_

"Hi Piper" A timid voice made Piper look at the Asian girl who looked frighten as hell, she recongised the girl from the bus.

"Soso right?" Piper asked as she gripped her head in pain. Soso nodded her head, "What's wrong? Why do you look so scared?", that was probably a dumb question since they were in prison. But she didn't think anyone would hurt a new inmate.

Soso walked into Piper's bunk and sat next to her, "I got bunked with Brandy", Piper looked confused.

"Who's that?"

"She's white" Soso said

Piper shot her an incredulous look, "Gee, that helps a lot"

"The bald one, she had a neck tattoo and she was on the bus with us" Soso replied innocently.

"What about her?" Piper asked, her headache was getting worse and Soso's naiveness was only making it worse

Soso suddenly moved closer to Piper as she whispered, "I think she's a Nazi"

Piper wanted to face palm her forehead so hard, but it would only add to her pounding headache, "I don't even want to know why you think that", she stood up, ready to leave to get herself some water but Soso reached out to grab her arm.

"Please" Soso begged, "Can I sit with you at dinner?"

"Do whatever you want" Piper sighed with annoyance as she left the cubicle to go to the cafeteria, Soso quickly stood up and followed her.

-00-

Piper was waiting in line with Soso behind her, she was talking about the new food privileges, "It is so degrading, they should feed everyone the same food. No one should get special treatment", Piper ignored everything that Soso was saying.

She was holding her tray with nothing but a cup of water on it, Red noticed there was no food on her tray and gave her look, "Not hungry?" Red asked, Piper looked up to see Red eyeing the cup of water.

"Nope, just thirsty" Piper replied as she moved down the line, Red was still looking at her weirdly, she wanted to escape Red's gaze but at the same time she really couldn't care less. Piper walked out of the line, she felt like she was in high school again. She looked at the tables in the cafeteria and tried to decide where to sit, she saw Nicky, Morello, Alex and Big Boo sitting on the far right table, and she knew that Alex was looking at her, but Piper didn't want to talk to any of them, especially not Alex.

"Why not sit with your friends?" Soso asked as she pointed at a staring Alex who looked confused as to why an Asian girl was pointing at her. She was hoping Piper would sit with them, but seeing how she was standing in front of the cafeteria looking around like a lost child in a playground, she knew she wouldn't be able to talk to her tonight.

Piper wanted to punch Soso for pointing at her, "Rule number 1, do not point at other inmates", Piper said in a low voice, she walked over to an empty table and sat down. Soso sat across from her and started to dig into her food but she instantly spat it back out.

"This taste disgusting" Soso said as she spat out her food, Piper just shook her head as she sipped the cup of water, "Do you want to try some?"

Piper look just as disgusted, "I'm good". Piper wanted to go back to sleep, but she knew that she had to at least stay here long enough for everyone to finish eating.

"Are you sure? It's really disgusting" Soso said as she took another bite, but slower this time. Piper slouched on to the table as she leaned her head on her palm.

"How'dy Partner" A high pitched voice spoke, Piper instantly knew who it was, Lolly Whitehill, "You know this food isn't that bad. I have been to prisons where the food was literally chucked on the ground, stepped on and then fed to the prisoners"

Piper was seriously regretting this seating arrangement, "That's great to hear Lolly"

Piper buried her head in her arms as she tried to drown out the voices. She found the chatter and laughter that filled the room, comforting in a way. When it was silent, she could hear screaming, screaming for help, begging someone to get them out of their cell. She remembered hearing people banging on their cell doors and cursing at the guards for their release. But some days, it was quiet, sometimes it was as if the whole place was deserted. The place was almost like an abandoned building and it drove her to madness, she craved for someone to talk to, for someone to touch. When she got a new cell mate, they were either fucked up in their own way, to the point where she didn't want to get involved with them or else it would lead to her getting in more shit than she already was.

She noticed that the chatter started to die down, and she also felt Lolly nudge her arm, she looked up and glared at Lolly but Lolly just gestured her head to indicate that someone was hovering over them.

Vee and her gang were staring down at them, Piper automatically assumed that Vee was trying to feel dominant in this situation, Piper took one last gulp of her cup of water and stood up, she got ready to leave until Black Cindy took a step-in front of her to block her path, "What the hell is this?" Piper snapped, her headache was still pounding and hearing Lolly and Soso talk about the worse food that they have ever eaten, did not help.

Black Cindy shrugged her shoulders calmly, as if she didn't understand what was going on, "Sit down", Vee's voice commanded, Piper was going to protest but she saw in the corner of her eye, that Alex was standing up and ready to march over here if things got messy. Nicky pulled on Alex's shoulders muttering something to her that made Alex sit down, but she was still watching Piper like a hawk.

Piper decided the best thing to do was to listen, so she sat back down and fiddled with her cup. Vee shot a look at Soso that told her to 'get the fuck out of my seat'. Soso quickly scurried over to the other seat, Piper noticed that the other black inmates were standing up, they didn't want to sit on the table, they wanted to intimidate her. Lolly looked between the 2 and muttered, "Shit is going to get real"

"Are the rumours true?' Vee asked calmly, her eyes were locked onto Piper's face, like a missile locked onto their target.

"You have to be more specific"

"You were in maximum prison, yes?"

Piper didn't know where this conversation was going, she simply nodded her head.

"Drugs are pretty accessible in there, am I wrong?", Piper had a bad feeling about this, she looked up to see Poussey giving her a sympathetic look.

"Just tell me what the fuck you want" Piper was getting sick of these games, she knew that Vee wanted something from her.

Vee smiled at Piper, she liked the fire that burned within this girl but she also knew that this girl could be potentially dangerous to her if she was on Red's side, "I'm running a business" Vee said as she took out a small packet with cocaine in it and waved it around, she made sure she was hiding it from the guard's view.

The other black girls looked just as shocked as Piper was, "Vee, what are you doing?" Taystee asked, it was dumb of Vee to be waving around a packet of cocaine in the middle of the cafeteria. Vee ignored her and grabbed Piper's hand, she put the cocaine in Piper's hand.

"A welcoming gift" She muttered before standing up and leaving with her group. Poussey was the only one who looked genuinely concerned for Piper, she slightly shook her head as she walked off with Vee and her gang. Piper quickly shoved the cocaine in her underwear.

Piper didn't know why she took the drugs, there was a part of her that told her to take it and use it. she should've told Vee to piss the fuck off and shove the cocaine up her ass. Well, the cocaine was shoved up someone's ass in order for it to get smuggled in here.

Pipe slammed her palm on the table, "Fuck" She shouted as she stormed out of the cafeteria. Everyone looked at Piper who had just stormed out.

-00—

"What the fuck was that about?" Big Boo asked as she ate her food. Alex wanted to chase after Piper but Nicky grabbed her arm and told her sit her ass down.

"If you don't want her to get involved, then don't get involved with her" Nicky said simply, Alex knew what Nicky was saying made sense, but she didn't like the interaction between them. She could feel the tension in the room, and so could everyone on this table.

"I know how much you care for her sweetheart, but wait for her to come around. She needs time to process, and so do you" Morello said as she reached over the table to grab Alex's arm comfortingly.


	8. Chapter 8

**_Chapter 8_**

7 days has passed since she had returned. It was the longest 7 fucking days of her life. Piper would love to say that within the week, life was uneventful, but that wasn't true.

Red tried to talk to her about Vee, about what happened at dinner 7 nights ago, but Piper kept shutting her down, she kept saying her repeated mantra, "I'm not getting involved in your shit Red"

Vee hasn't spoken to Piper since that night either, but it sure as hell didn't stop her from glaring at her from a distance. Piper could handle the stares, she simply ignored them. She didn't use the drugs that Vee had given her, she had hidden the cocaine in the bible. It was her way of saying 'fuck you' to god.

Piper knew that she should've flushed it down the toilet, but it all too tempting, she had used before in MAX. Drugs were literally flying around the place, she was locked up in a box for 20 hours a day, she needed to do something to kill the time.

But here, using was more risky, there were more guards on patrol, you weren't locked up in a confined box for 20 hours a day, and there are people in here who despise the use of drugs.

There was also the situation with Alex, things between them has been tense. Piper felt the need to stay away from Alex despite her wanting to hold her in her arms. She missed the way Alex's arm wrapped around her body, she missed the subtle touches and the silent looks that they gave each other.

Everything was getting more complicated, today was laundry day for Piper which meant she had to face Alex. She had bumped into her a few times, but she would occasionally walk the other way when she spotted her.

Piper got out of the shower and got changed, her ribs were still sticking out, but she gained some weight, barely but it was something at least. She wanted to get drunk again, but she was also avoiding Poussey.

It is safe to say that she was basically ignoring everyone.

-00—

Piper walked down to the laundry room, when she entered she saw Alex and she immediately hid behind the wall, hoping that Alex didn't see her.

"Shit" Piper muttered to herself as she held her dirty clothes up to her chest, she was hoping that Alex wasn't there, it was stupid since she worked down here, but she still hoped. Piper's brain told her to fucking walk but her body didn't respond.

"Pipes" Alex voice echoed in the room, her voice came out as a calling rather than a question. Piper felt utterly embarrassed and stupid for hiding from her.

Piper appeared from behind the wall and walked up to Alex, "Were you just hiding from me?" Alex asked in an amused voice.

"What? No, I was just-... there was this thi-... Yeah I was hiding from you" Piper said, her lame excuses wasn't going to save her from the confronting conversation. Alex was amused at this, her smile only grew, she reached out to grab Piper's dirty laundry, their hands gently brushed against each other.

"Still bad at coming up with excuses, are you?" Alex asked with amusement, Piper looked so adorable with her mouth moving up and down, trying to form the right words, "We need to talk Pipes"

At those words, Piper clenched her jaw shut, she hated the tension between them too, but she was terrible at confronting her feelings.

"I have to get to work" Piper said as she turned to leave, but Alex reached over the table and grabbed Piper's wrist, it was just like 3 days ago.

"Pipes please" Alex's voice cracked, that was enough to make Piper want to break. She hated hearing Alex sound so... broken. She turned back to face Alex.

"10 minutes" Piper said, she had to go to work, that wasn't a lie.

Alex nodded her head and moved around the table, her hand transitioned into holding her hand now.

"Pipes I know you are mad at me, and I'm sorry for th-", Piper immediately cut her off, Alex couldn't understand why she was avoiding her, she barely knew why herself.

"I'm not mad at you Al, if anything, I feel like a complete idiot" Piper muttered, she liked this, holding Alex's hand, it felt right "I was avoiding you because I was afraid"

Alex scoffed at this, "Afraid of what? Afraid of commitment?", she didn't mean to sound snappy or sarcastic, but she was hurt. Hurt that Piper could barely look at her, hurt that Piper chose Larry, the safe option, over her fucked up ass.

Piper shook her head, "Of getting hurt. When I'm with you, I can't control myself. I can't keep my emotions in check, you saw what happened In Caputo's office. I lost my fucking shit in there because you were in there with me"

"So what? This is now my fault?" Alex shot back angrily, "So you have ignored me, and basically pretended that I didn't exist for the past week, because you were scared of your own emotions. How the fuck is that my fault?"

"No" Piper shouted, "I don't know how I feel! When I'm with you, I feel like I'm losing control" Piper pulled Alex closer to her, "And when I'm not, everything hurts"

Piper pulled Alex closer, there breathing got heavier and suddenly their body felt like it was on fire, Alex swallowed the lump in her throat, "I know things are different now, we spent 18 months, away from each other. I never felt so alone, so...fucking empty. I don't want to lose you Pipes, I need you", she muttered. Hearing those words coming out of Alex's mouth made her forget every shitty thing in her life.

"Shut the fuck up and kiss me" Piper whispered.

Alex slammed her lips onto Piper's, everything in this moment felt so right. No amount of drugs or alcohol could make her feel this way. Piper shoved everything off of the table onto the floor, Alex grabbed Piper's hip and smoothly tuned her around, forcing Piper slam her back against the metal table as she kissed her passionately.

-00—

Alex was lying on top of Piper with a huge grin on her face, "So much for not fucking each other" She panted as she got herself off of Piper. She quickly slipped on her pants in case someone else walked in.

Piper was lying on the table, looking up at the stained ceiling of the laundry room, "Why the fuck did I say that I again?" Piper asked, she sat up on the table and put her shirt back on.

"Because honey, you'll end up in the vicious cycle of Vauseman" Alex muttered as she picked up the dirty laundry that they threw onto the ground.

"You're never going to let that go, are you?" Piper asked as she helped Alex pick up the dirty clothes

"Nope" Alex said, she looked up at the clock and noticed that and hour has passed, "Oh fuck"

Piper furrowed her eyebrows as she looked at Alex who was looking at the clock, she turned to look at the time, "Fucking Son of a bitch", She muttered as she noticed that she was an hour late late. She quickly threw all the clothes onto the table and ran out of the laundry room.

"What? No goodbye kiss?" Alex teased, she thought Piper didn't hear her so she turned her back and started to do the laundry. She felt someone wrap her their arms around her waist and kiss felt their lips on her cheek.

"Bye" Piper whispered before running out.

-00—

Everyone turned to face the person who came through the door, "Chapman, you're an hour late" Officer Bell shouted.

Piper tried to come up with the best excuse she could come up with, "There was a long line for the shower. I guess I miscalculated the time". Piper muttered as she sat down next to Stella.

Stella leaned over and whispered into her ear "Your hair is dry". Piper automatically touched her hair.

"Shit" Piper muttered as she looked down at the panties that she was supposed to make. Piper hid her embarrassment by making panties.

Stella, who she talked to on several occasions leaned in closer to whisper in Piper's ear, "We need to talk"

Piper shot her a questioning look, she moved a bit back to avoid feeling Stella's breath on her neck, "About what?"

"I have an idea" Stella said, she smiled at how uncomfortable she was making Piper.

"Does your idea involve making a secret bomb to blow this place up and escaping to Cambodia with one person who you love?" Piper asked sarcastically as she sower the underwear together,

Stella looked at her with confusion, "What?"

"Never mind" Piper replied, her mood has increased immensely so she decided to ask what Stella's idea was, "So, what's your idea"

Stella looked around, making sure no one else was listening in, she spoke in a low yet cautious tone and Piper was seriously regretting asking, "A panty business"

Piper let out a mocking scoff, "Your fucking joking right?"

Stella shook her head, "Listen to me, I've got this guy who can run this business on the outside. All we have to do is steal some of these panties, recruit some girls to wear them and leave a stench then package it and I'll do the rest"

Piper shook her head, _'Yep, she definitely regretted asking'_ , her mood has now deteriorated, "Firstly, I barely know you, so why the fuck are you telling me this shit?"

Stella was shocked at how pissed Piper was, she assumed the girl would be on board with the panty business, "Because you are the only one I trust in here", this ironically made Piper scoff in annoyance.

"Yeah right, we barely know each other" Piper spat angrily, "So cut the shit and tell me why you think you can manipulate me?"

Stella lifted her hands in the air to suggest her surrender, "Jesus Chapman. Look, do you want me to be honest?"

"No, I want you to fucking lie to me" Piper shouted, Officer Bell shot a glare at Piper.

"Can it Chapman" Bell shouted at Piper before looking the clock, "10 more minutes to lunch" she shouted before reading her magazine.

Piper gave Bell an apologetic look before glaring at Stella, she didn't want to get involved in this illegal business. Stella shook her head and bit her head nervously.

"Chapman... I like you" Stella admitted, she was not prepared for Piper's laughter.

"Oh my god" Piper said while laughing, she stopped facing Stella and was now concentrating on her panties, she could not believe what she was hearing, "You don't get to do that"

Stella was turning red from embarrassment, "Don't get to do what?"

"You don't get to drag me into your master plan and then suddenly confess your attraction to me, right after I said no" Piper said angrily.

Stella opened her mouth to talk but was cut off my Officer Bell's voice, "Lunch break, get the fuck out of here"

Piper immediately stood up and walked out of the room, Stella chased after her.

"Chapman wait up" Stella shouted, she grabbed Piper's arm. Piper's first instinct was to punch the person who grabbed her arm but she suppressed that instinct.

"Look Stella, you're hot. Anybody who has eyes can see that. But I'm not into you like that. I barely know you" Piper said, she probably sounded like a bitch, but she didn't like the vibe she got from this woman, "Plus, I'm into someone who is taller, more mysterious and a fuck load more sexier than you"

-00—

After Alex finished all the dirty laundry, she decided to go back to the bunks to find Nicky. She had this stupid goofy grin on her face that she couldn't seem to get rid of no matter how much she tried.

She walked into the dormitory and as she was walking to her bunk, she heard a familiar person swearing under her breath.

Alex went to Red's bunk to see Piper's side of the room messed up, there were books scattered all over the floor and the mattress was also on the floor.

"Red, what the fuck are you doing?" Alex shouted as she entered the bunk. She saw Red throwing the books onto the ground, she was searching for something but Alec wasn't sure what Red was hoping to find

"She has drugs" Red spat quietly in anger, Alex looked at Red as if she was a crack head, "She's trying to get me sent to MAX"

"Who?" Alex asked, "Piper? She wouldn't do that to you, she's trying to stay far away from this shit and I doubt sending you to MAX is her definition of staying out of it", she picked up the books that were scattered all over the floor and placed them back onto the side table.

Red was clutching onto the bible, "Look", she took a few steps closer to Alex and opened the bible to reveal a small bag of cocaine.

"Fuck Red, what the hell?" Alex shouted in a hushed voice, she slammed the book shut.

"She planted it in my bible, she's trying to frame me" Red shouted angry, her thick Russian accent only emphasised her anger.

"What makes you think she planted it in there? Anyone could have walked in here and put drugs in their" Alex argued, she didn't believe that Piper would do this, framing Red.

Red flung her arms up in the air angrily, "Vee said she and my roommate called a truce which only means that Chapman is working with Vee in order to get back at me. She sold her the drugs to plant it in my bunk"

"Are you seriously believing Vee? And why the fuck would Piper want to get back at you?"

"Because, the first day she came to prison, I didn't feed her, she's still angry at me for that"

Alex could not suppress her sarcastic scoff from escaping her lips, "That was over 2 years ago, she's not going to hold a grudge against you for something so petty"

Red grabbed Alex's wrist and started to drag her into the cafeteria, on their way they passed Nicky and Morello who were in the tv room.

Alex could've easily gotten out of Red's grasp but instead, she let Red pull her, "What the fuck are you doing Red?"

Nicky saw Red marching down the hallways while dragging Vause, she softly nudged Morello and pointed to the 2 women, "Should we see what the fuck is going on?"

"Well that depends, I feel like that is trouble and getting involved will only get us into more trouble, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't curious" Morello replied as watched the tv.

"Yup" Nicky replied, they sat there for a few seconds, pretending to be interested in the tv show, but boredom caught up to them quickly. They both stood up and followed Alex and Red into the kitchen.

Red gently pushed Alex into the pantry, Gloria shook her head, "Seriously? Another family meeting? You guys realise that this is a kitchen, not a meeting place"

Red shot an angry glare that said, _'Don't fuck with me',_ Gloria shook her head with annoyance and returned to her cooking.

Nicky walked in with Morello behind her, "Why wasn't I invited to this party?"

Red shook her head and lifted her hand to tell her to leave, "Leave Nicky"

Nicky didn't like being told what to do, and the fact that they were trying to get rid of her made her think that something shitty has happened, "What the fuck is going on?" Her voice didn't sound angry, she was merely curious.

"Nichols, you don't want to get into this shit" Alex said, she didn't want Nicky getting involved especially when it involved drugs.

"Just tell me what the fuck is going on" Nicky said impatiently.

Morello raised her hand in the hand innocently, "I would like to know to"

Red and Alex shared a look before Red passed Nicky the bible, "I think it's a little too late to start praying to God to save my soul"

"Open it" Red said, Nicky opened the bible and instantly recognised the cocaine. Her smile instantly disappeared and she was now fuming with anger.

"What the fuck is this? Why the hell do you have drugs?" Nicky shouted as she slammed the book close.

Red shook her head, "It's not mine, Chapman planted it in my bunk to get me sent to MAX. Vee sold it to her"

Alex instantly jumped into Piper's defence, "We don't know if it's hers"

"Then tell me why there is drugs in my bunk? I sure as hell didn't put it in there" Red spat back

Alex was getting frustrated at this whole situation, she knew Piper, she knew she wouldn't do something like this, "Look, I know Piper, she would never do this. She would never get someone sent to MAX just because of a little feud"

"People change Vause. You haven't seen her for the past 18 months, maybe going to Maximum Prison turned her into cold-hearted bitch. I'm not surprised, I've seen good people go into MAX and come out fucked up" Nicky shouted back. Alex clenched her jaw in anger, she hated how everyone ultimately assumed the worst of Piper.

"We are all fucked up, and yeah, maybe going to MAX changed her. It probably made her stronger too, but it wouldn't turn Piper into a fucking back stabbing bitch" Alex shouted at Nicky, she never shouted at Nicky like this before, she just hated when people made assumptions about Piper like they knew her.

"Guys, please don't shout at each other" Morello said calmly, she wasn't going to take sides but she also hated seeing family fight, "Let's just ask her", Morello said as she pointed at Piper who was lining up for lunch.


	9. Chapter 9

**_Chapter 9_**

Piper was waiting in line impatiently, her conversation with Stella was still replaying in her head. Stella was manipulative, maybe not as psychopath, but a bitch who will cause an immense amount of trouble. Someone broke her out of her train of thought when they suddenly grabbed her arm and dragged her into the kitchen's pantry.

"What the fuck?" Piper shouted as she felt herself being shoved into the pantry.

Piper got ready to punch whoever dragged her into here, but she realised that she wasn't in here alone. Alex, Nicky and Morello were in here. "Jesus Red, do you have to be so harsh?" Alex muttered as she grabbed onto Piper's shoulder.

"What the hell is going on?" Piper snapped, she felt Alex's warm hands on her shoulders but she was too pissed at Red for shoving her in here like that so she pushed Alex's hands off of her shoulders.

She was getting understandably pissed at being unexpectedly grabbed by people. The next person to grab her unexpectedly, she was going to punch them.

Red grabbed a Bible that was sitting on the counter, "What the fuck is this?" Red shouted as she waved the Bible in the air.

"It's a Bible" Piper replied calmly. She knew why Red was pissed, but she wanted to avoid this particular conversation. Nothing good can come from this.

"Cut the fucking innocent act" Nicky shouted at her, Piper was surprised that Nicky was so pissed about this. Nicky grabbed the Bible and opened it, "Why the fuck do you have cocaine on you?"

"Easy Nichols" Alex warned, she didn't like the tension in the air.

Piper couldn't think of a reason to have cocaine shoved in a Bible, so she decided to turn this back on them, "If I want to hide drugs in the fucking Bible, then I'll do it. Why the fuck were you going through my shit anyway?"

Alex felt uncomfortable, she wanted to give Piper a huge fucking lecture about this, but she was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that Piper planted the cocaine in the Bible.

"It is my bunk" Red shouted, Dayanara looked at the pantry to see them fighting. She shook her head and muttered something about white people, "I do not need to ask for your permission to search through my bunk when I suspect someone is trying to frame me. I will not allow any drug activates to occur in my bunk"

Piper took a step back in disbelief, "Drug activities? Fuck you", she spat angrily, "I don't need to explain shit to you. I'm staying out of your shit, so stay out of mine", Piper made a move to leave the kitchen until Nicky stood in her way, "Piss off Nicky"

"Please don't fight, we can talk this out" Morello said nervously. Alex nodded her head in agreement, she wasn't going to jump to any conclusions until Piper admitted it herself.

"You know what Morello, you are right" Piper said, Morello could hear the sarcasm but she decided to smile despite of it, "Let's talk about all of you ganging up on me"

"We're not ganging up on you" Alex stated, at least she wasn't, she just wanted to understand the facts, she now knows that Piper willing put the drugs in the bible, but she knows that Piper would never frame someone, especially not Red.

Red was ready to unleash her wraith upon the girl who she had thought tried to frame her, but Nicky beat her to it, "I thought you were good people Chapman", she muttered as she pointed her index finger at Chapman's face, Piper would be lying if she said she wasn't tempted to snap Nicky's finger.

Piper clenched her fist in anger, "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you planting the fucking drugs in Red's bunk for Vee" Nicky spat maliciously, Piper never heard Nicky speak so venomously, but she was even more pissed that they thought she would do something like that.

Alex didn't want Piper to think that she had something to do with this so she tried to defend her, "We don't know that", she argued, although her voice went unheard.

Piper shook her head with anger and disbelief, "So when I say, I'm going to keep out of your shit with Vee and Red, you automatically assume that I'm working with your enemy by planting drugs in a fucking Bible?"

"We know that Vee controls the drugs around here and consequently you so happen to have drugs on you. So, if you didn't plant the fucking drugs in the Bible to get Red sent down to MAX, then why the fuck do you have cocaine hidden in a bible?" Nicky shouted angrily. Piper knew how protective Nicky was of Red, but that didn't give her the right to assume shit she didn't understand.

Piper couldn't seem to understand why people thought that she couldn't have had the drugs for herself, was it really that surprising that she went to MAX and did drugs?

"Fuck you" Piper said in a dangerous tone, she only used this tone when she was defending someone she cared about, or when she was really fucking pissed off, "You seem to have all the fucking answers in the world Nicky, so why don't you tell me why I would hide drugs in MY bible?" Piper took a few, dangerous steps towards Nicky. Her anger was flickering out of control and once again, she had the urge to punch something, but this time she wasn't going to hit something, no, she wasn't going to unleash her fucking feelings.

"I went to MAX for fucking 18 months, so fucking sue me for using drugs while I was in there. You, out of all people do not get to judge me for using and having drugs, but if you really want an explanation as to why I have cocaine stashed in the bible, it's because that fucking manipulative cunt gave it to me as a welcoming gift to Litchfield" Piper's body was shaking with anger and her intense glare made Nicky flinch, but not enough for her to back down. Alex however was shocked by the news of Piper using when she was in MAX.

"So what? You fucking hid it in the bible? Why didn't you flush it down when you had the chance?" Nicky shouted back with her fists clenched, she was just as stubborn as Chapman was, and she was blinded by anger to see straight.

Piper scoffed, "Just like you did? Oh wait, you got sent to MAX because you couldn't flush down your addiction", it was a low blow, but she didn't give a shit at this point. She was pissed at being accused by people who she specifically tried to avoid in order to not, get sucked into this drama, "and then, you decided to get back on drugs when you got a second chance to be with Morello. But you will always choose drugs over the people closest to you right?"

"Fuck you Chapman" Nicky shouted as she shoved Piper back a bit, they were now out of the pantry and in the main kitchen. "Don't talk about shit you don't understand!" Nicky practically screamed as she shoved Piper back causing her to hit her ribs on the metal table, she let out a cry of pain as she felt her ribs connecting with the cold, hard, metal.

"Fuck" Alex shouted as she ran over to Piper, all the Latino's froze as they watched the scene play out. Everyone who was waiting in line for lunch, ran into the kitchen to see what was going on while Gloria pushed pass the crowd to see Nicky shove the white girl into the metal table.

Piper could already feel her ribs aching but she didn't let that stop her, she stood right back up with Alex by her side. She too was blinded by anger and wanted nothing more than to punch the person who had just shoved her. Before Piper could retaliate, a giant guard shoved through the inmates to see what all the commotion was about.

"What the fuck is going on in here?" Officer Piscatella shouted.

Nicky was looking down at her feet, all of her anger suddenly vanished when she shoved Chapman into the table. The anger was now replaced with guilt as she realised what she had done, Piper however was still pissed but she knew how to keep her emotions in check at times like this.

After a moment of silence, Piper finally answered, "I tripped"

Piscatella wasn't dumb enough to buy this load of crap, "You tripped?", Piper simply nodded her head, she never made eye contact with him, "What the fuck did you trip on that made you hit your ribs into a metal table?"

Alex flinched at the shitty excuse that Piper had used, "My own two feet, what can I say? I'm a clumsy person"

Piscatella shook his head as he grabbed his little book from his pocket and shouted, "That's 2 shot inmate!"

"For what?" Piper asked angrily

"For being a shitty liar" He said as he wrote down Chapman's name, "and for starting a fight with another inmate"

Piper scoffed angrily at this, she was the one being ganged up on and she was the one who was shoved, why the fuck was she always getting punished for shit like this. She could say that it wasn't her that started it, but she wasn't going to snitch on Nicky, despite how pissed she was.

Piscatella raised his eyebrow when he heard Chapman scoff, "Unless you're telling me that you weren't the one who started the fight".

Piper gave him a sarcastic smile, "No, sir"

"Good" He muttered, he turned his back on them and shouted at the rest of the inmates who were packed up in the kitchen, "Get back to your fucking lunch before I give everyone in this room shots". The inmates quickly dispersed like ants as Piscatella walked out of the cafeteria.

"Pipes" Alex muttered softly, she was rubbing Piper's arm soothingly, "You okay?"

Piper however wasn't paying attention to Alex. No, she was glaring at Vee who gave her a manipulative smile from a distant, "Fucking fucker" She muttered.

Piper walked back into the pantry and picked up the bible that still had the cocaine in it, Red's family gave her a wary look. They were unsure what Piper was going to do but before anyone could ask her, Piper marched out of the kitchen and out of the cafeteria.

"Oh shit" Alex muttered as she ran down the halls, despite several guards telling her to stop running, to chase after Piper.

"What the hell was that?" Gloria shouted at Red

"It's complicated, trust me, you don't want to get involved" Red said as said as she looked at Nicky.

"Are you okay?" Morello asked softly, she, put her hand on Nicky's shoulder, Nicky shrugged her hand off and muttered, "Perfect" before grabbing an apple to eat and leaving the kitchen. She took a seat next to Frieda and bit into her apple.

Morello watched Nicky with concern from the kitchen, Red grabbed her shoulder in comfort, "She's never gotten violent before"

Red raised her eyebrow at Morello, she was also concerned with Nicky's sudden outburst but she knew there was a reason for it, "She and Chapman are very much alike. Don't forget that she too, also struggled with drugs when she came back from MAX"

"That gives her a reason to shove Chapman?" Morello asked innocently, there was no judgement in her voice, only confusion.

"Nicky was so close to having someone she loved, but then she got involved with drugs and burned her opportunity to hell because she couldn't let go of her addiction" Red explained, "When she returned from MAX, she relapsed… do you remember how much shit we all went through because of that?"

Morello nodded her head, it was physically painful to watch Nicky self-destruct like she did. The drugs didn't only destroy Nicky, it was destroying her whole family, "It was terrible, I still remember when she almost overdosed and Vause had to make her purge in order to save her… we couldn't even take her to medic because she would've been sent down to MAX"

"Believe it or not, she cares about Chapman, she's worried that she will make the same mistakes as she once did"

"So Nicky pushed Chapman because she cares?" Morello was only becoming more confused by the second.

"Yes, but also because Chapman was an insensitive bitch and went too far" Red replied before serving the other inmates lunch.


End file.
